Rebirth

So saying that last year didn't go well is an understatement. My job situation unraveled, and I ended up with a couple of surgeries. This year looks to be exciting, and I hope to get started with some regular posts on bike building. I have just started working on the assembly stage for four bikes: my 1938 Speed Twin, my buddy's 1939 T100, and two of my 1940 T100s. More later, I promise!

1939-1940 Front Numberplate

Here's a really rare item. This is the front numberplate introduced for the 1939 model year, and also used for 1940 models. This one differed from the 1938 one in that it gained a chrome surround. Post-war, Triumph used a similar one, although it won't correctly fit a pre-war bike.

Pre-war revulator speedometer

This is the first of many items that came with my 1940 that really made the project worth purchasing. The pre-war chronometric speedometers differ from the post-war versions in the cable assembly. The pre-war version has a drive blade that sticks out the back of the speedo.

This speedo has the rev counter added to the face, which was called a revulator sometime after the war. If that marketing name was used before the war, I haven't seen it in any literature so far. This one is in very nice condition, and seems to work fine. Considering the date on the tag, I figure it is likely to be original to the bike. I'm not 100 percent sure, but I believe this was the standard speedo on the Tiger 100, optional on the Speed Twin.

1940 Girder Forks - reaming bushings

So somewhere around two years after the Tiger 100 reached my house I got around to checking the various components for proper fit, etc. When I took a look at the girders, I decided that the bushings were a bit too tight for my preference (all new bushings and spindles).

I contacted ICS Cutting Tools in Casco, WI to see if they might have a hand ream to fit my application. They did not stock a ream that met my needs, but were happy to manufacture one to my specifications. I received the ream in about 10 days, and it worked like a charm.

October 2006 - 1940 T100s New Home!

Well it took an entire year to actually finish the deal and go get the bike, but here it is at my house four and half years ago. A lot of restoration work had already been done, and I contemplated putting it together immediately as I got it, but we had a five-month-old baby at the house at the time, and there were a few things I wanted to change before building the bike. More details on that to come...

1940 T100 - September 2005

It's hard to believe it's been over 5 years, but here are a few of the pics that Mike Whitney sent me when we were talking over the possibility of me purchasing the project from him. Needless to say I was excited about what I saw, especially after all of the parts hunting I had gone through for the 38!

April 2003 - Looking more like a Speed Twin

It's amazing what just a few items will do for a project. Now sporting a front guard from a Tiger 100, a set of original handlebars, a rear guard, and a rear numberplate.

A couple more pieces, and you can start to see the gracefull lines of the 1938-1939 Speed Twins. I do love the pre-war T100 bikes, and the 1940 5Ts, but the big tank takes away something for me. I really prefer the smaller tank.